Do I feel guilty or what?

At lunchtime today my two older sons (14 + 16) went to Concord sports centre for fitness training. I drove them there, but told them not to bother phoning me to collect them afterwards as the walk home would provide them with some extra free exercise.

Two hours later they phoned me from a public phone box to tell me that they'd been mugged whilst waiting for the bus home.

Four teenaged yobs had asked to borrow their mobile. They said they didn't have one, so the yobs frisked them then threatened to beat them up if they didn't hand it over. Obviously they handed it over.

The SCUM, for that is what they are, ran off towards the flower estate. Luckily my 16 year old could describe them.

The police, uniformed and CID, have been wonderful.

How do the lads feel? Terribly upset.

How do I feel? I hope these SCUM all wake up dead tomorrow. Believe me, 'dead' is better than how they'd feel if I had caught them. So hateful of them am I, that when I drove around scouring the streets after I had collected my lads my intention was to drive straight into them if my sons had pointed them out.

Now I've calmed down a bit, I don't feel like running them down. I just hope someone else does it! (one of their joyriding mates maybe)

Ironic thing here is that they only took the mobile with them in case of emergency. The bloody mobile CAUSED the emergency, and they had to use a public phone to report it!!:mad:

Hades Markham that is crap!

Sort of glad it was just the moble they took and not a few chunks outta your sons. Hope the police have a decent attempt at finding them.

Hope they feeling better soon

Moon Maiden

Sorry to hear that Markham.

Hope they catch the crooks.

Nomme

Thanks nomme, Moon,

I've never known these two so quiet and withdrawn.

No doubt they'll get over it and learn from this.

Thanks again for concern:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Sorry to hear that :(

Hope that the Police can sort it out.

Markham,

If it's any consolation, the same thing happened to me years ago in Sharrow. Although back then it was called 'taxing' Fortunately, it didn't affect me for too long. I was also a bit withdrawn for a while but looking back on it it wasn't because I was traumatised but because my pride had been dealt a blow.

I'm afraid it's a fact of life these days. It could be worse, the part of London I live in has banners hanging from the lampposts warning that street robbers operate in the area.

I'm sure your kids will be OK. Either they will never see the people who did it again (so don't need to feel anxious), or they will (and will get a better chance to ID them).

M

Its about time mobile phones were fitted with a self destruct facility that could be activated, and blow up the thieving scum.

Sorry to hear that, but its known for it on that estate I'm afraid. You'll probably be able to get the phone back via the second hand shop at Firth Park - they are known collectors of warm equipment.

Sorry to hear that - capital punishment anyone???

That's awful, Markham.

But don't feel guilty about it in any way - you didn't do anything wrong!

I was accosted in Manchester 20 odd years ago when I was a student and it stayed with me for a while but eventually I got over it. Things pass with time. Hope they feel better soon.

Regards,

Joe

sorry to hear about your lads Markham, hope they soon get thier spirits back. At least they didn't get beaten up which they might have been for not having a mobile or anything else to take.
Bring back the Birch, these yobs make you sick
deecee

Markham, you can't always be there for them. We all have to go through trauma at some point in our lives, and as hard as it may be it doesn't do any permanent harm. if anything it makes us stronger.

I got completely battered by a group of 6 lads when i was 16. they were after 60p. It knocked my confidence for quite a while and really injured my pride. Unfortunately, it seems that this is a part of growing up. It doesn't cause any long term damage, it just makes us a bit more vigilant.

Still, this kind of thing makes us all so angry.

That's terrible Markham. Hopefully the police will catch up with their assailants. Hope your boys get over it soon.

Sorry to hear about that glad you got a description.

Thanks everyone, on behalf of my lads.

They've had a good night's kip and seem to be back to normal.

Awaiting a police visit with some mug shots, so there's still hope.

Apologies for initial rant, but what bugs me is that my lads are hardly ever on the streets. They're usually doing homework, coursework, playing some sport in the garden or park, watching TV or out shopping at Meadowhall. That's why someone else's inbred little runts making off with their hard earned property is hard to accept.

Thanks again everyone for your concern.

Let us know how it goes Markham...glad to hear they have picked up.

Moon Maiden

Originally posted by markham
Do I feel guilty or what?

At lunchtime today my two older sons (14 + 16) went to Concord sports centre for fitness training. I drove them there, but told them not to bother phoning me to collect them afterwards as the walk home would provide them with some extra free exercise.

Two hours later they phoned me from a public phone box to tell me that they'd been mugged whilst waiting for the bus home.

Four teenaged yobs had asked to borrow their mobile. They said they didn't have one, so the yobs frisked them then threatened to beat them up if they didn't hand it over. Obviously they handed it over.

The SCUM, for that is what they are, ran off towards the flower estate. Luckily my 16 year old could describe them.

The police, uniformed and CID, have been wonderful.

How do the lads feel? Terribly upset.

How do I feel? I hope these SCUM all wake up dead tomorrow. Believe me, 'dead' is better than how they'd feel if I had caught them. So hateful of them am I, that when I drove around scouring the streets after I had collected my lads my intention was to drive straight into them if my sons had pointed them out.

Now I've calmed down a bit, I don't feel like running them down. I just hope someone else does it! (one of their joyriding mates maybe)

Ironic thing here is that they only took the mobile with them in case of emergency. The bloody mobile CAUSED the emergency, and they had to use a public phone to report it!!:mad:


grrr, i ****ing hate scallies, peopel with no lives and nothing better to do than make other peopel miserable.

i say we bring out ritual scally burnings

know how you must be feeling.
my son then 14 ,was mugged at highgreen just going through a pathway to the shops.
glad they're giving descriptions.
my son did but was too terrified to have it taken to court.
i wish we had.
they should gradually re gain their self confidences.
But its coming to something when you cant even go to a sports centre in peace.
maybe now ,the police will keep an extra eye out near that place
being near the flower and all.
hope they soon recover.

Sorry to hear about your boys Markham. I know I'd feel the same as you if that happened to either of my kids.

Sorry to hear that markham. Considering the police are probably unable to do very much, what you really need is a good description of the miscreants concerned, plus a bunch of big blokes from the local rugby club and go round and have a quiet word in the collective shell-like of these little toe rags. In an ideal world, anyway.

I was the victim of a attempted mugging in Firth Park nearly 3 years ago. I had been playing football on Concord and walked in to Firth Park to catch a bus back to Chapeltown. I checked the bus times and had missed it, i decided to wait for the next bus when i got stopped by 2 teenage lads asking me what was in my bag, i told them footy gear and they told me they wanted to search me, i told them to **** off and they took a Iron bar on me. I turned and ran catching a nasty blow as i ran away. They disappeared but it made me really wary of Firth Park

Thanking you all for your positive feedback.

Originally posted by Internetowl
And if you dropped it on Firth Park, no one would die cos they're all out stealing and mugging on other estates....

:)

Sorry Abdul but you know its true - just wander around the Oval and open your eyes.

Err...yeah...I have friends who've lived on the Oval for years and they haven't had any problems.

You have noticed a lot of goings on around the Firth Park area at night. If it's so unsafe, why are you walking the streets in the early hours of the morning? Looking for trouble are we?

Aha - You're the reason Firth Park has such a bad reputation

Oh my god, that is terrible. I am so sorry to hear about it.

Chris and I used to go swimming there every Friday and I have always been wary of the area, especially due to the fact that Chris got attacked just down the road in Page Hall. I never took my phone with me, just our clothes and my gym card/£4 for Chris' swim, because I didn't want Chris putting through any more trauma.

I don't think we'll be starting up our swimming there again, its just too scary a place to go to at night. I'll be glad when we get a place of our own, away from that area, so that we don't have to wander around there anymore unneccessarily.

Firth Park, Fir Vale, Pitsmoor, Bungreave and Grimesthorpe, bomb the lot, i mean they would are possibly the scummiest areas of Sheffield, places you can't walk through at night for fear of being relieved of your worldly possessions by gangs of certinous street thugs.

As a afterthought it would be a excellent idea to make the bomb nuclear to stop the survivors from recreating furthur hooligans to follow in their steps

Mod: Ladies, ladies (internetowl & Wendy)... if you want to have a slanging match please do it through PM. I've removed the handbags at dawn competition

Hope your boys ok now. ...Must ave shaken them up.

Most of the Kids round that area want their asses slapping (some of the parents do too!)

One of my mates lived on flower estate. (bout 100yds or so from concord pk)


He lived there 6mth max and:

-had 2 cars pinched!
-broke into his house when he was in bed!
-burgled him 3x when was out!
-smashed the windowpane on his door (for no known reason)
-set a fire on his garden
+ pinched his dog!!!

In 6mth he lived there, I'd say thats a lot of **** he's got thrown his way!

My son was mugged outside the Tesco a few years ago for a pound which was for a loaf of bread.
He knew the scum that did it and the police charged him with robbery.
Due to a technical hitch he got away with it in court and smirked.
He was as guilty as hell and i would name him as he is local but i may be sued for liable.
The louts that robbed your son certainly live in that area and highly likely in the Flower estate its self.
Anger will soon take over as at first its there pride that hurts and then they will get over it and carry on.
I have been a victim of theft several times and lets hope they get the scum that did this.
If they do then name and shame them if they are found guilty.

Still no news from the police.

IF I do find out names etc. and IF they're found guilty, I'll gladly publish their names.

The lads went up there again Wednesday so I collected them by car this time in the hopes these inbreeds were hanging round. No luck though. Don't think I'll ever give up 'looking' for them. They're marked in my book, for life! It's a wonder I haven't crashed the car as I spend more time looking down side roads than where I'm going. God knows what will happen to them if my lads ever bump into them one at a time.:mad:


Mods,

How come Abdul's post and my response to it have been removed? Did I miss something? Just wondering:(

Originally posted by Cycleracer
My son was mugged outside the Tesco a few years ago for a pound which was for a loaf of bread.
He knew the scum that did it and the police charged him with robbery.
Due to a technical hitch he got away with it in court and smirked.


It went to court for a £1 theft ?

Don't know if this will be of any use, but I've included brief descriptions of the scum here. If anyone thinks they might know who they are could you please let me know by PM, names, where they hang out, live etc. so I can pass it on to the police?

There are four of them.

Aged 16-18

Three are white, one is black.

The black one is the tallest, about 5’8”, wearing a silver watch which is loose on his wrist.

Two of the whites are about 5’6”.

The third white is about 5’4” and has a ‘squeaky’ voice.

All are dressed in ‘Gangsta’ (my son's words!) style dark clothes.

They disappeared across the sports fields opposite Concord towards Foxglove Rd.

The stolen phone is a Nokia 3510i, dark blue with orange luminous sides.

Any info would be gratefully received and in strictest confidence.

Thanks again to all members for your concern.


markham
:sad:

this is not a mugging,but my grandson lives,not far from concord park.he was on his bike,when this lad he knows knocked him off for no reason,and kicked him in the head and face,this lad is 13,my g/son a very small 11,my son in law went to see this lads dad,who said my g/son has been wanting that for years,i wanted the dad sorting,but ive calmed down now,as i wont stoop to their level,but if it happens again ,i wont be held responsible,it used to be nice around that area.i hope your lads are recovering now,and we will pass any info onto you,you never know someone around there just might slip the names.

Thanks pauline.

What chance is there when the parents are blind to the actions of their kids, eh?

Sterilisation anybody?

markham:(

Originally posted by PENGUIN
It went to court for a £1 theft ? It was'nt theft, it was robbery, in my book the amount stolen is irrelevant, he threatened and robbed my son.
No excuses, he's a street robber.

I agree with you Cycleracer.

£1 stolen WITH menaces from a kid outside a shop is as bad in my books as £1m stolen WITHOUT menaces from some company safe and should be dealt with in the same way. IE, the full weight of the law.

Court costs? Simple. Make the little gits (or their parents) work them off!

And to emphasise(sp?) my thoughts on the subject, the perpetrator should have his/her name and full address published on a rogues gallery for all to see. (for the protection of others).

I wish they'd stop this "The child's identity cannot be revealed for legal reasons" crap. Me and a million other people want to know who these families are so we can 'keep an eye' on them for the benefit of the community.

Originally posted by Cycleracer
It was'nt theft, it was robbery, in my book the amount stolen is irrelevant, he threatened and robbed my son.
No excuses, he's a street robber.

I dont disagree, they should be punished. its funny how you said he was mugged out side Tesco, this the same one on the same lot of shops you foolishly left you bike only a few months back unsecured and yet surprised it got stolen ?

Originally posted by markham
Court costs? Simple. Make the little gits (or their parents) work them off!

Yeah so simple eh, why wasnt it introduced years ago?

Originally posted by PENGUIN




Yeah so simple eh, why wasnt it introduced years ago?

Because we've got idiots organising our legal system, that's why. The same idiots who think a 'caution' is a punishment, and a 'first offence' is less serious than a subsequent offence.

In fact, the same idiots who's soft approach to crime has made it necessary for this and other similar threads to be discussed on here.

Im sorry about your sons trouble and hope they recover soon.

Im against putting these trouble causers in prison as I think they should be made to clean streets and do menial work to pay off their debt. They should have to work with old people and victimes of crime so they can see the consequences of their actions on other people. In the modern world there is no sense of personal responsibility any more. Its always someone else's fault for whatever reason they can think of.

If they cant do the time they should not do the crime:mad:

I hope Blair's new initiative works and the streets are reclaimed for normal people. Perhaps the parents will be made to act more responsibly and keep track of their young ones.

:o

Thanks dilwise.

I agree with your sentiments completely. Someone, somewhere is responsible for every crime, and it is NEVER the victim irrespective of how lax they've been with their property. If the criminal is too young to be responsible for their actions, or is in care, then the parent or carer is responsible, and should be punished in their stead. Just as a dog owner is solely responsible for their dog.

Some years ago when my oldest lad was about 11ish he went to the shop with his mate and when he arrived back home he mentioned that they had bought two bottles of cola each. I noticed that they only had one bottle each so asked them where the other (empty) bottles were. My son replied that they'd shoved them in someone's privet edge. I played holy hell with the pair of them and sent them off to get them and show them to me before binning them. This they did without back chat.

On another occasion he was having a kick around on the front when his ball hit a neighbour's car, breaking the front number plate. The neighbour wasn't aware it had happened. He was upset, but admitted it. I sent him to the neighbour to apologise and offer to replace the plate. The neighbour accepted his offer, so with £5.50 from his money box we went and got a new plate.

In both the above cases I could quite easily have pretended it didn't happen, but I didn't. It's things like this that make me so disgusted with other parents and their offspring.

My lads are 12, 14 and 16, that adds up to 42 years, and in all that time we've had the police at our house three times concerning my kids. Once regarding a dog attack on the youngest, once concerning him getting beaten up 'for a laugh' on his way home from school, and this latest mugging incident. MY kids victims on all three occasions. Their mum even plays hell with them for having pockets stuffed with rubbish on wash day, when they could so easily have chucked it in the street.

It is for these very reasons that I think the law should be as tough as possible against all child offenders AND their parents so that the decent folk can get back to living in safety.

I wonder how Sheffield got to be so violent. I was born in Attercliffe before WW2 and could walk the streets as a kid in moderate safety. Are there not enough parents like Markham who seems to have the ability to keep her kids well behaved and happy? Are drugs involved, or are kids left with too much spare time and not enough to do.
At least you don't have to deal with guns, though it must be tempting sometimes to use one. The problem is they usually have a bigger gun than you. That's the American problem and you don't want it imported. Mcdonalds is bad enough!

It's the wishy-washy liberal society that has been forced upon us buck. Thank God I'm not part of that society. Mind you, THAT society keeps spilling over into MY society and ruining it for me.

By the way buck, I'm a him, not a her, but thanks anyway for the kind comment :thumbsup: